


Brand New Reality

by embarrassingresultofmyfreetime



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bickering, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Other, a wholesome angst+fluff for people who, actually know about the shalka alternate universe, alt-9th doctor, alt-9th doctor and his respective version of the Master, can you tell that I have no idea how to tag this? lol, dhawan master is allowed to swear, hand holding, happy ending for the shalka!universe Doctor and Master, i let dhawan master say fuck, it's really angsty but they get a happy ending of course, meet 13 and dh!Master
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27198934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime/pseuds/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime
Summary: In an alternate timeline:The Master is killed in the Time War but the Doctor finds a way to salvage his oldest friend's mind by binding it to his Tardis and building him an android vessel as a way to interact with the physical world.The Doctor also manages to save the Time Lords from their war- but he is still a renegade in their eyes. As punishment, the High Council uses the Doctor- and by extension the Master- as their personal diplomats/field agents.The Master isn't too happy about being trapped on the Doctor's Tardis, the Doctor is fed up with being the equivalent of a dog on a leash to the Time Lords, so in a moment of anger and also pure luck- they break out from their world and end up on a parallel one with a very different version of their universe and very different versions of themselves.(Shalka!Universe Doctor and Master meet their modern counterparts- the Thirteenth Doctor and Dhawan!Master)
Relationships: Ninth Doctor (Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka) & The Master (Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka), The Doctor & The Master (Doctor Who), The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor & The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Two of a Kind

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this ages ago and I wasn't going to post it for various reasons- but THEN I saw some artists on tumblr making Shalka!universe art in this hell of a year 2020 and I thought 'You know what? Alright. I'll post this for the whole 5 people who might enjoy it.' so here it is.
> 
> If you follow my account and DONT know what the Shalka!Universe is - or as I like to call it, Alt-9- It's basically a version of Doctor Who right before "New Who" where there was a different outcome of the Time War. Personally, I hate the flashvideo- but I think the concept is really interesting.  
> I took a few 'artistic liberties' with this fic, so please don't get upset if something's wrong. I just thought this would be a fun idea to write.
> 
> Last thing: this fic is in a bit of a different style than I usually write and I know it's really difficult to keep track of two different sets of characters with the same name so if anything is confusing just ask :)  
> I tried my best lol
> 
> [Rated T for: Death mentions, vague war mentions, swearing, self harm (someone punches a wall)]

"My dear, there's interference," the Master gently mentioned from where he stood to one side of the Tardis console.

The ship was currently rocking about wildly as she fought with some unseen force in the time vortex. The Master and Doctor both knew it was the mysterious hand of the High Council attempting to shift their destination, but neither of them bothered to make light of it.

The Time Lords had been ordering them about relentlessly, turning the Doctor's lives-old, self-imposed work into a slap to the face. The Doctor had defied them when he began to travel and help his faithful humans; and now the Time Lords had finally gotten smart about it. Instead of trying and failing to stop him, they instead took him in their clutches and tossed him back out among the stars- this time only allowing the Doctor to change what they saw fit.

It was breaking the Doctor down, to see his atonement become diplomatic on behalf of the Time Lords. Time Lords who were the reason his oldest friend, the Master, was currently entangled in his Tardis systems and only able to interact with the world via the android form he and the Doctor designed.

And now they traveled together, the Master stuck aboard the ship and the Doctor was alive, but ensnared in the Time Lords' invisible clutches.

The Doctor had done countless things on the Time Lords' behalf- stopping invasions, finding peaceful ends to rebellions, releasing trapped creatures- but his 'help' had quickly grown rotten. He wasn't always placed on the right side of a conflict and he hated being forced to serve the side the Time Lords wanted. The Doctor was tired.

He was meant to fly free, but after escaping his cage one too many times, the Time Lords had instead settled for chains to ground him. Chains that they could drag in any direction they saw fit and keep him from ever truly escaping. No matter how hard he pulled, the weight of it all persisted and he was beginning to lose hope he could ever fully break away.

The Time Lords had given him the Master, the man they saw as his favorite toy, and turned him loose. But that wasn't freedom, that was just another tactic to keep the Doctor restrained and, if they waited long enough, maybe one day break him.

Well the Doctor was having none of it. Not today.

Today was not another day the Doctor would find himself in the trench of another stupid war explaining to yet another two-bit general that 'conflicts end when both sides are willing to talk! How many more kind, brilliant, innocent people have to die before you're willing to _just talk?!'._ Another day- probably, it felt inevitable- but not this one. Not while the Doctor was still kicking.

The Master, meanwhile, did what he could to keep the ship stable. He braced his hands against the Tardis console and flipped various switches to counterbalance the shaking Tardis with the forces acting upon it.

The pair piloted the ship with the grace of a single unit, in perfect sync yet doing so in blatantly contrasting styles as the Doctor frantically rushed about.

"Don't you think I know that?" The Doctor snapped in frustration.

The Master glanced up to see worry written all over the Doctor's face, but said nothing of it. The Doctor always was so very easy for the Master to read, but the Doctor stubbornly refused to admit to anything that didn't align with his confident, stoic exterior.

The Doctor simply continued, his hands working over the array of controls, and his mind through the problem at hand.

"The question is, how! _How_ are they interfering?!" the Doctor's dark gaze stayed locked to the Tardis controls, "These readings don't make any sense!"

Normally, the Master would berate the Doctor for his idiocy. The readings don't matter, so long as they counter the difference between the current readings and the baseline numbers.

However, this time, the Master chose to remain quiet.

These useless comments used to rub the Master the wrong way, but being stuck on the Doctor's Tardis had forced new insight upon him. The Master's consciousness was intertangled with the Tardis's psychic perceptions which kept him trapped yet alive, and the craft herself ever-intertwined with the Doctor's mind... so suffice it to say, the Master was developing a certain new understanding of his lives-old friend.

For instance, he could see the worry not only cloud the Doctor's face, but his mind as well. The shield of flippant retorts and boundless energy was a simple mask to hide his fears.

The toll it took to stay calm every time he saw a battlefield, the fear that they would never escape their ungrateful homeworld, and particularly that if his Tardis became too heavily damaged, he might lose the Master's life for good, weighed immensely on the Doctor. They were in uncharted territory after all, and the wrong strike at the wrong time could cost him the Master's life before the pair got the chance to properly fix his physical form or their relationship.

The Master pretended this moment of consideration was only to brush a loose strand of hair back into place before glancing over the Tardis read out once more.

The Doctor was blathering on about something- desperately trying to organize his clouded mind through speech- but the Master only caught every other word. The Doctor said some kind of scientific nonsense related to the Tardis, but half of the words sounded made up, like they were the names for Tardis systems he had never stayed in school long enough to learn the proper names of.

"Well, if you would breathe for a moment, you would realize that ruling out all the usual suspects leaves only something new to be discovered. You usually love new," the Master suggested. It was certainly still a subtle jab, but it wasn't as hurtful as the other retorts he'd had in mind.

"Love 'new'," the Doctor hisses sarcastically, "At least new is _interesting!_ This isn't interesting at all! Look," he gestured with one hand from reading to reading while the other simultaneously continued to flip switches.

"Earth- fine, timestream windows- fine, artron energy-" he paused and raised his eyebrows, "actually that is quite a lot-!"

A sharp jolt of the Tardis interrupted him. It felt as though they had been knocked off course by some unknown force; and the pair could only hope it meant the other Time Lords had chosen to let them go this time around.

The Doctor nearly tumbled over, one hand catching the railing before he could do so out of sheer luck.

All at once, the emergency homing systems engaged and the familiar sound of the Tardis landing resonated through the room. Something began to hiss, like a pent up pressure abruptly being released.

The Doctor and the Master glanced at each other for a moment, neither quite sure what had happened or why they had stopped.

Doctor turned away first and reached for a strange tool to open the Tardis up. He removed an entire panel from its multi-sided covers and began to examine it.

"What does it say?" the Doctor asked the Master, their rapport good enough that he needn't clarify further.

"The usual," the Master observed on one of the smaller screens.

"The usual? We just made an emergency landing!"

"It just says the usual," the Master shrugged, his strong features finally moving away from apathy and into something intrigued. The Doctor was always chasing novelty, and it felt surprisingly good to be involved in it for once.

The Master leaned back against the railing behind him and briefly ran a hand over his jaw,

"21st century Earth, England- no surprise there- overcast with a chance of rain after evening tea. Like I said, the usual. It's the Tardis engine output readings you should have asked about."

The Doctor set the large panel down like a dish in a sink.

"What do the engine readings say!" the Doctor huffed before stepping over to read the dials himself.

The Master smiled to himself as the Doctor settled himself far closer than he needed, probably unaware he was even doing it. The Master looked over the Doctor's sharp features; dark but grey-ing hair pulled out of his face and swept around his ears, his tall, lean figure surrounded by the abundance of fabric that made up his coat, complete with a high, green collar and a bit of shawl that flowed over his shoulders.

The Master never did understand the Doctor's obsession with fashion, but he supposed dressing in the same old Gallifreyan robes day after countless day was bound to take its toll on a person in some shape or form eventually.

The Master watched as the Doctor's slender fingers met his chin and the way his eyes flickered about as he searched his mind for an answer to these anomalous readings.

The Master might have a physically android form, but his mind was as sharp as ever. He knew the Doctor had a love-hate relationship with their current situation: being trapped together on this ship, being tossed into one deadly situation after another by a higher power they couldn't fight. And if his freedom being taken away wasn't enough- the Doctor felt personally responsible for what happened to the Master back on Gallifrey. This solution was only a temporary fix until they found something more functional.

Still, the Doctor had spared no expense and taken no shortcuts. He had worked tirelessly to give the Master an otherwise indistinguishably Time Lord form.

And... well... for a moment, the Master realized how easy it would be to take the Doctor's nervous hand dangling at his side into his own. How easy it would be for the Master to lace their fingers together once more, like they did so terribly long ago, and tell him that it would be okay.

But that wouldn't be very like them if he did.

So the Master glanced at the free hand, and then let the opportunity pass him by as the Doctor left his side once more to access the damage.

Suddenly and without any warning, the Tardis's front doors flew open. The Master and the Doctor looked to each other, the silence between relaying the question: 'Did you do that?'.

They stood in silence as they watched just about the last scene they could have ever imagined unfold before them.

"See! She's already sorry! And even if she wasn't, you definitely deserved what happened," a blond figure resembling a woman said firmly before absentmindedly walking into the room.

A dark-haired figure resembling a man followed her, just a step behind. Both of them exchanged a look with such intensity that neither seemed to realize their new environment nor audience.

"Deserved it?! I still get an inexplicable stabbing pain in my left hand because of it! And anyways, what I did to your ship was a LONG TIME AGO!" he said in a tone that made it clear this was not the first time they had had this argument.

"Now you're going to blame her for _nerve damage?_ Please! You're just getting old and you know it!" the woman retorted back, facing him and jabbing a finger into his chest.

The man gasped and feigned a hurt expression. His perfect brown eyes clearly took her comment a little too personally.

"You take that back!" he shouted.

He jabbed a finger right back at her and stepped closer than necessary. So close, in fact, that their faces might as well be touching.

The blond figure didn't flinch in the slightest. If anything, she looked like she was daring him to keep this up and find out what would happen.

The Master- a robot with absolutely no need to cough- chose to clear his throat anyways.

Both halves of the pair immediately broke their concentration and let their eyes fall on him. They quickly moved apart as if their actions had been nothing out of the ordinary.

For a moment, the intruding pair simply looked a little confused before- for the first time- deciding to look to their surroundings.

The pair let their eyes wonder for a moment, picking out the large spiral staircase along the back wall, the central pillar decorated in bronze, and the sheer volume of the enormous room; all dressed up in green and black with touches of gold and the occasional red.

"I don't suppose you've redecorated again," the dark haired figure in the purple coat casually gestured to the high ceiling towering above them.

"If I did, I wouldn't choose _this_ ," the other observed casually. Her nose scrunched up at the sight.

"It's a bit... cold," she said disapprovingly, "Industrial even. Actually, it reminds me of the time I was in-"

"Excuse me, my dear," the Master interrupted from nearest the center of the room, "but how did you get in here?"

"Dear?" the well-dressed newcomer in the deep purple suit scoffed, "Only _I_ get to call her 'dear'."

The woman in the pale blue coat shot her partner a glare, but that didn't stop him from quickly bolting to the central platform. He leaned against the railing next to the Master dressed all in black.

Meanwhile, the blond woman quickly caught the eye of a tall, thin figure who had been obscured by the central pillar. He curiously crossed the room and examined her own attire in response.

"How DID you get into the Tardis?" he asked curiously.

The shorter figure simply produced a small key from her inside pocket.

The Doctor produced his own key, and the pair held them up to find that the ridges matched up exactly.

"I don't remember you, but I suppose that's not saying much," the newcomer observed with thoughtful uncertainty.

A new version of her would normally be a curious case, but with everything she'd been through lately it was no cause for an investigation.

However, she didn't quite recognize this one as herself. Something about her counterpart felt ever so slightly... off.

His face caught her attention in particular, something about his eyes clearly looking like hers but... different. As though he had seen far _different_ things.

She narrowed her eyes for a moment and half-jokingly brushed her hair behind her ears, mirroring the hairstyle of the taller figure before her. Maybe... could she become him?

No... that didn't feel right either. And no matter how dark things got, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be picking reject-vampire meets steampunk as a fashion sense anytime soon.

Was he her past?

Either way, he didn't look too amused.

Across the room, the well-dressed man in purple moved loosely about the Master.

"You look familiar, have we met before? What would you say to dinner?" he flirted boldly.

For whatever reason, the man in all black made him faintly reminiscent for simpler times. Times when he'd worn a similar face so very long ago.

The Master's cold gaze simply washed over the newcomer as if he was performing some kind of analysis.

"Why are you so desperate for approval?" he asked flatly.

The man in purple faltered for all of the blink of an eye before grinning wildly.

"Nice one," he beamed, "I like you. This is a nice Tardis you have here, you know. I may just have to take it."

"Not before I do," the Master's mechanical features pulled his lips into the slightest hint of a smile.

The figure in the purple suit jacket beamed brightly. A wild, teeth-filled smile reached all the way to his dark, dazzling eyes.

"Then what do you say we kill old gothic horror novel over there and take it for ourselves," he lowered his soothing voice at the enticing offer.

The Master turned his head to see the pair of- what he now realized were both Doctors- pull out matching Tardis keys over the shoulder of who he, himself, now realized was most likely his own counterpart.

Interesting.

The Master's eyes fell back to the maddeningly ecstatic man taunting him with the admittedly tempting option of taking the ship for himself.

As much as he wanted his freedom, what would he be with a Tardis and no Doctor?

"I don't think you'll want to do that," the Master concluded, still watching the pair chat in their long coats and fascinated eyes.

The newcomer's deep brown eyes followed his gaze with a dramatic spin. He tossed his head back once he registered the sight and came to the same conclusions as his robotic counterpart.

"You HAVE to be kidding me," he huffed.

The shorter Doctor heard her partner's complaint and replied as the two Doctors returned their respective keys to their pockets.

"It appears so."

The older Master leapt down from the central plateau and returned to her side.

He eyed up and down her younger counterpart.

"I don't remember this one," the older Master finally decided, turning to her once more.

"I don't either," his Doctor replied with a shrug, "but that's not saying much. I've met others I didn't remember."

The taller Doctor simply looked over the smaller pair with a softly amused expression. They were so... small.

"Well he's not your future or HE would remember, wouldn't you?" the Master reached out a hand to point, dirt trapped under his perfectly trimmed nails.

"Parallel world," the Master in black interrupted.

He stepped down from the Tardis console and took his place next to his respective Doctor.

"Our ship was met with some strange interference and then fell completely off course. With the way the Tardis energy was spiking, not to mention meeting the two of you- it's the only thing that would make sense," he reasoned.

Both Doctors spoke at the same time: "But parallel worlds are sealed off!"

They looked at each other while the Master in purple's face lit up,

"Too slow! And by hundreds of years at that!" he taunted, "Who's showing their age now?"

The shorter Doctor rolled her eyes, "Either way, we need to focus on fixing this."

"Agreed," the taller Doctor nodded.

The Doctors immediately shifted into problem solving mode.

"This is the exact spot where I parked my Tardis earlier," the shorter of the Doctors explained, "so if your Tardis is here now then... maybe my Tardis is still here too."

The taller Doctor's eyes lit up, "Right! Our emergency landing must've picked up on the only familiar thing here, an identical Tardis! So if the front doors lead to our Tardis, then it would make sense that yours is technically in the same place you left it!"

"Dimensional engineering, at it again," the other agreed happily.

They exchanged an excited glance and then ran off to a nearby hall.

"Don't touch anything while I'm gone!" the more experienced Doctor warned her matching version of the Master with a glare.

"Oh no. You've seen through my cunning plan," he responded flatly, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"That includes him!" the other Doctor warned before the pair disappeared down a hall.

The more animated Master sighed and waited all of three seconds before leaning an arm on the android's shoulder.

"So. What kind of trouble do you want to get into first?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please kudos/comment/bookmark for updates!
> 
> This is 1/4. I'll have the rest up as soon as I can :)


	2. Older and, therefore, Wiser

"My guess would be that my Tardis is close to the core, where the signal would be the most familiar. However, since these ships are identical, we can't exactly track it. This could take some time," the shorter Doctor sighed as their excited sprint dissipated into a walk.

"Yes, that would make sense," the other Doctor mused, his mind distracted by something else.

The older Doctor could see that something was clearly bothering him, but she didn't want to ask outright. She knew from personal experience how irritating it was to be asked if you were okay when you absolutely were not, so she instead gave him a long moment to mull it over.

After a few minutes, he seemed to figure out what he wanted to say.

"So... assuming parallel worlds and all. Your Master ends up okay? Perhaps not _okay_ \- but certainly _alive?"_

"He has a way of getting out of tight spots, that's for sure," she chuckled.

This didn't sooth her counterpart as much as she had thought it would.

"I take it the same thing that happened to him didn't happen to _your_ version of him," he commented.

The older Doctor could see that a great amount of guilt weighing on her younger but different self.

She briefly tried to calculate at what point on her timeline he had diverged. With the grungy exterior, she would have to guess post-The Time War. How soon after, it was hard to say, but if he was with the Master... maybe... he had made a different decision than her? But which decision?

"What happened to him?" she asked with a heavy heart.

Her counterpart's head dipped. His long coat settled about him as if it could somehow protect him from his reality.

"A lot.... That's... not even him in there," he admitted. "His consciousness is part of the Tardis now, that body is a physical form I built for him until I- until _we_ can find a way to restore him. It's a long story."

"He's an android?" the elder Doctor asked, surprised. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head in thought. She glanced behind her even though the Masters were long out of sight by now.

"That's amazing handiwork. I hadn't even noticed!"

"It's the least I could do," the taller Doctor's large coat sleeves wrapped around himself, "after the war and... everything."

She put a hand to his upper arm and he spared her a smile,

"I'm sure you did what you could. And hey, if I know anything about the Master, it's that he always bounces back eventually!"

This parallel version was soft inside, the older Doctor could see as much. He really did care, even though he put up this whole act to protect himself. Somehow, she was glad he wasn't too different. He was younger, probably somewhere around her ninth or tenth regeneration, still fresh from the Hell of his homeworld and so scared for the future. She had gone through something very similar.

"Thank you," he replied simply. With only himself for company, it was nice to allow himself to be vulnerable.

She appreciated his honesty.

"You'll be okay. Both of you. My Master and I- that's weird to say!" she suddenly realized before continuing, "My version of him and me, I mean. We've been through a lot together and we're both still kicking! This pain won't last. Maybe one day you'll forgive your past and move on to a better future."

It was something of a lie, but if he was really from a different reality then there was still time for him to make it true. He didn't have to end up with her same suffering.

He nodded and considered this as they walked.

He had grown so tired of everything recently. So tired of the constant peril, so tired of having to solve disputes for the Time Lords who cared more about putting him through Hell than the actual outcome of his work.

Their stupid war had cost him the only person who really mattered to him and now he had gotten them trapped together.

How could this other Doctor be so confident there was a future for them? How could she be so certain they could forgive the past?

He... wasn't sure he deserved to be forgiven anymore....

In fact he knew he didn't. If he did, he wouldn't put so much effort into pushing everyone away.

-

"So you, I take it you're still pretty early on the timeline," the older Master sang with a curious voice, like he was working to solve some kind of puzzle using his alternate self's answers as the pieces.

The younger Master wasn't too impressed with this alternate version of himself so far. Hypnotic, merciless, self-preserving, yes those same traits were all there. However, this older version was all witty charm and had the eyes of a madman who wanted to watch the world burn just so he could feel _something_ in his long-dead soul. Even if it was a knife through his chest, there was a clear longing eating him up inside.

As different as they were, that part was something the alternate Master understood. His mechanized body made him feel and act colder than ever before and his circumstances kept him locked away in the Doctor's Tardis. Day by day, he went along with the Doctor's plans because he simply had no other choice.

It was dull and he too wanted something more than the hand dealt to him. But neither knew what.

"The Time War wasn't so long ago, if that's what you consider 'early'," the android Master explained, his hands clasped behind his back.

"We won their war, but the Time Lords have been keeping a close eye on us ever since. They now send us into the most deadly of situations, presumably to keep us busy until they find a way to kill us for good- Or until we get so exhausted we kill ourselves. I can't help but wonder if our meeting is one of their manipulations gone wrong."

His alternate self's deep brown eyes suddenly grew enraged.

"You... you WON?! The Doctor STAYED and you WON?!" he shouted as if he couldn't possibly believe him, "And those Time Lord BASTARDS are still out there messing with your heads? Playing you like some sick game?!"

The alternate Master sighed and looked down at his hands. He rolled down the edge of one glove and up the sleeve of his coat. The other paused his fit of rage out of curiosity alone.

The Master in all black opened a panel on his exposed skin and revealed to the other all sorts of colorful wires and plastic pins which kept them from rattling about.

"Won is... relative," he sighed. "My physical form was destroyed. I'm alive through the Tardis itself, but it's all little more than an intricate life support system. I can't so much as leave the Tardis doors."

The Master that still needed air to breathe took in a deep breath and then channeled his fury into a punch to the nearest wall.

"Those selfish bastards!" he shouted, "You can't give them an inch or they'll take a mile!"

He punched it again, the metal refusing to cave under his fist.

"Those fuckups-...." he seethed in rage, his words hissing through his teeth, "If the Doctor doesn't stop me, I swear, I'll kill the righteous Time Lords in your universe as well!" he exclaimed, shaking in rage. He couldn't seem to stop himself if he wanted to, "You can't trust them. They're keeping so much from you. You and your Doctor."

He threw another punch. The wall refused to dent, but his blood vessels broke under the impact.

"I can't believe they would do that- Do everything they've done- And still send you off to your deaths, none the wiser."

He laughed weakly as he threw another punch. His fist slipped- possibly catching some kind of imperfection in the wall- and cut cleanly through his knuckles.

The Master in the purple coat grumbled a series of swears as he applied pressure to the wound with his other hand. Deep red spilled down his skin in thick beads.

"None the wiser, huh?" his alternate version closed the access panel on his forearm and hid it under his sleeve once more.

"I know more than you," the injured man breathed sharply. A slight glint of tears in his eyes, but not from the physical pain he had caused himself. If anything, the injury was a welcomed distraction. What hurt more than anything was the realization that no matter what he and the Doctor did for their home, they would always be nothing more than pawns in the Time Lords' cosmic game of chess. It scared him more than he would ever dare to admit- to think about a world where he was still pinned under their thumb. Hence his outburst.

The robotic Master rolled his eyes and then continued down the hall. He pulled a first aid kit from a nearby cabinet and quickly dressed the bleeding wound.

"You may have lived through more, but you clearly haven't learned from it," he mocked.

"You want to see wiser?" the injured Master challenged, "I'll help you get out of here, or at the very least: through those front doors. I've spent quite a long time in the Doctor's Tardis and I can't let you suffer the same fate. If you're trapped there long enough you'll start... feeling things," he grimaced as if it was something disgusting on his tongue.

"Unfortunately, I might know what you mean...." the other considered. He resented his Doctor for his situation, deeply and thoroughly, but he knew the Doctor hated himself far more and that made it quite difficult to properly maintain his grudge.

What's more, the Doctor took quite good care of him- all things considered. His form was robotic in nature, but the Doctor worked tireless hours making him feel more at home than imprisoned. The Master found his mind drift back to a certain afternoon where his Doctor had spent _hours_ gently calibrating the synthetic skin of his hands, asking him in such uncharacteristically soft ways what sensations most closely resembled genuine touch.

The Master's retorts had been as scathing as always, but there was something about the Doctor's gentle nature that day that kept the Master answering until he could no longer tell the difference between what the world used to feel like, and how it felt now. It was part of the reason for his gloves, to remind him of what the Doctor had cost him and keep hold onto his bitter resentment- lest he accidentally thank the man in a moment of weakness.

"Then it's settled!" the eccentrically dressed figure beamed, extending his injured hand cheerfully, "I'll help you get out of here!"

The alternate Master couldn't think of anyone he'd rather make a deal with than himself. He nodded.

"Alright. Let's do it."

-

"We're getting close," the alternate Doctor observed. Despite his 'gothic hero' exterior, his thin lips suddenly broke into a childish smile.

"He left the umbrella stand in here again," he all but downright _giggled_.

"Umbrella stand? And why do you even _have_ a zeppelin?" the far elder Doctor asked, "I haven't been a fan of zeppelins since-"

"1937?"

"1937," she agreed grimly.

There was a moment's pause, but then the alternate Doctor smiled. The long sleeves of his coat bounced with excitement as he picked up the umbrella and proceeded to spin it around for a brief second, like a tap dancer about to start a musical number.

"It's part of an old argument," he explained, bringing an extra shine to his eyes as he reminisced for a moment.

He didn't elaborate, but there was clearly some old but not forgotten inside joke about it.

The Doctor offered out a hand for the umbrella and the taller Doctor gave it. She extended up the handle and pulled out the top to reveal a long blade.

"He doesn't change, does he?" she chuckled, sheathing the blade back into its disguise.

"I suppose not," the taller chuckled, "At least, not to me."

They continued through the hanger and down a flight of stairs that led deeper into the Tardis.

"I must ask," the taller Doctor began.

"Anything you'd like!" the blond beamed, "If you're from an alternate world, then nothing I say is technically a spoiler."

"My thoughts exactly," the other agreed. He paused for a moment, enough for the Doctor to take several paces ahead of him down the spiral case before realizing that the gentle weight of her boots on metal echoed alone.

She stopped and looked back to him.

"He's not happy being trapped here," the Doctor said with a heavy weight on his shoulders. He leaned his arm over the inner railing, "I've made it as comfortable for him as I can, but I know he hates it. I've always wanted us to travel together but... not like this. He can't even step out the front doors.

And, in a way... I'm trapped here too. We saved our home- did terrible things to strike at the heart of the Dalek's before the war could escalate to its worst- and we won... in a way...." he hesitated at the sting of the all too familiar memory. He had nearly lost the Master for good in that fight. Right then and there. It still hurt more than words could say.

He quickly caught his train of thought again and continued,

"But Gallifrey didn't care. The Time Lords won't let us go now. You see, they have a hold on my Tardis and do nothing but send us to sort out potentially deadly anomalies in time. All of which I believe are a ruse to get rid of us once and for all. So I have to ask of you...

What do I do?"

They stood there, the air still and suffocating as the alternate Doctor finally articulated the burden he'd been tasked with all this time. He only admitted the truth now because he truly hoped that this meeting of him and his alternate self was some kind of mistake. A mistake where the Time Lords' hand had finally slipped and lost their grasp on him and his ship and his Master.

It had to be. It was the only sign of hope he had gotten ever since the Time War, and if this was yet another mind game... he wasn't sure he could handle it. If he didn't take the opportunity to find out all he could now- to at least _ask_ for some kind of guidance- he may never get such a chance again.

The other Doctor retreated up the steps and her tall new friend felt his eyes widen as she pulled him into a hug. She was small, but very strong and he couldn't help but melt into her hold.

"The high council is full of controlling puppeteers," she warned him gently but firmly, "If you see a chance to break away from them, there's nothing wrong with taking it. If your past is anything like mine, then they've been using you your whole life. More than you know. You don't owe them anything."

She pulled back and looked at him dead on, "I know you're scared of what you've done, and the difficult decisions you'll still have to make, but when things seem at their worst; you'll be able to find a solution. And hey, if not, you have to forgive yourself for your mistakes and learn from them, alright? Just do your best and keep up hope for the future."

"Hope... right," he nodded.

She patted his shoulders, "And hey, maybe if you and your version of the Master talk about things earlier on, you'll be able to avoid some of the trouble we've made for ourselves, eh? Maybe even find a way out of your situation together," she beamed.

He smiled softly.

The more experienced Doctor took it as a good enough sign, and led the way down the staircase.

"Older and wiser, huh," he considered, quickly catching up to her.

"I'd never say I'm wise. I've made more than my fair share of poor judgement calls, especially when it comes to the Master. But hey, maybe you can do better than I did. Save yourself a bit of heartache. Now, which way do we go?"

The man lifted an arm, "left."

"Right, left!" The lead Doctor bounced. She quickly hurried around the corner and across a bridge, sprinting as her eyes met the figure of her own Tardis.

"Hello! I've missed you! Have you had a nice chat with your counterpart as well? Pick up any new tricks?"

Her Tardis wheezed as if to respond.

"Excellent! Any chance I can convince you to park yourself just a few external steps in any cardinal direction? I have to grab the Master and then we'll find a way to send our new friends home."

It whooshed again.

"Yes, I KNOW you don't like him! But that was a long time ago-"

Her Tardis made a bubbly noise.

It took the Doctor a moment to interpret it before both Doctors exclaimed,

"He's doing WHAT?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The umbrella stand joke was from some throw away line from the shalka!universe and I thought it would be funny if the REASON the Master keeps moving it around Alt-9's Tardis is because the umbrella in the stand actually has a sword hidden in it. Just because the Master likes to have weapons hidden nearby in case of emergency.  
> Idk why I thought it was so funny at the time, but I thought that would be a very Master-y thing for him to do so I put it in here. And of course Alt-9 always pretends to be angry bc 'Umbrella stands go by the front door for your /umbrella/!' and so it turned into a little joke between Alt-9 and android Master. And also to show that they do get along, but in their own kind of language where they know each other so well they like to do little things to purposefully bother the other.  
> It's like the opposite of a nice little 'thinking of you' note lol
> 
> There's actually a bunch of small references in here to random things from the canon just because. Maybe I'll put a list of them at the end or you can just ask if ur curious.


	3. Free from the Gilded Cage

"Alright-y, here we are!" the Master in the pristine purple coat exclaimed excitedly.

All around them, the Tardis console room was a mess. Various tools were discarded across the floor. A half-empty toolbag hung open from the railing nearest the console and a large panel that had been pulled up from the floor was propped against the railing as well.

The older Master had spent a long time trapped in the Doctor's Tardis and- although the situation wasn't quite the same- he had a knack for getting out of tight spots. He didn't see why helping his counterpart was any different.

He finished putting a small disk into the android's arm and carefully closed the hatch with such excited energy his hands were shaking.

"So I've spent many a day and night here, and what I've realized is that what counts as 'confined to the Tardis' really depends on how you think about it. Your mind is bound to the Tardis, but the Tardis is telepathic. It can translate words in a human's head halfway across the Earth if need be. So when you think about having the range of half a level 5 planet- well, how stuck are you really?" he beamed.

"I'll admit, I've had my doubts," the android hummed with as much cheerfulness as an android could manage, "but you've really come through, my dear. Older and therefore wiser indeed."

The older Master beamed, all teeth and giggles, "My pleasure. Now, should anything happen to you, you'll be down a body- like anyone else who gets dunked in acid etcetera etcetera," he chuckled, "-but you're mind will automatically return to the Tardis for safe keeping. Then... I don't know," he gave an energetic shrug, "I guess your discount Sherlock Holmes of a boyfriend will have to make you a new body. Which would be a real shame because with a nice suit I think he'd be all over you," the Master couldn't help but flirt.

"You're not so bad yourself," the android returned the compliment, "I'm sure your Doctor thinks so too."

"My Doctor," the Master scoffed as he calibrated the Tardis to stabilize the robot body of his counterpart, "My Doctor is pissed at me all the time. It's bad enough I have to claw my way back every time she abandons me, but she won't even give me the time of day anymore. I once has to chased her from the 1800s to the 21st century trying to tell her about home, and she threw me to Nazis _in PARIS_ and told them I was a british spy! Looking like this!" he explained. He gave a sweeping gesture at his own complexion.

The android's eyes widened in visible surprise.

"I used to pride myself on being her Best Enemy," he continued, "but I think somewhere along the way I lost her respect."

"Best Enemy," his android counterpart considered thoughtfully, "I think of myself more of a dearest companion, but I see your predicament. Perhaps she knew something you didn't, and trusted that you would be okay," he offered.

The Master faltered and carefully pushed a stand of brown hair out of his face. A messy smile spread across his soft lips.

"You really think so?"

"That's inexcusable, even for the Doctor, so it would stand to reason she must've somehow predicted your survival. I don't believe my dear Doctor would leave me to such violence, I would hope the same of yours."

The figure in purple allowed his gentle expression to twist into something vengeful as he clarified, "She left me there for 77 years."

The android didn't miss a beat.

"Then nevermind. Kill her and try again with her next regeneration," he suggested merciless.

After a moment, they both laughed.

The eccentric Master soon finished the calibrations and double checked the controls, dancing over the mess of tools and scrap and wires the pair had made along the way. He then leapt down to the ship's front doors and pushed them open to reveal a beautiful setting sun in the distance. Down the hill stretching before them and across the townscape below, it sank into the horizon in a fiery spectacle of color.

The whole world, historically just out of the Master's reach.

The auburn sun poured into the room and the Master couldn't help but move his android figure out to it. The golden hour illuminated everything beautifully and, for just a moment, he could pretend it was like home.

A breeze brushed through their hair, and he could see his older counterpart standing just outside the doors, smiling out at the fine evening before them.

The Master's android body stepped out onto the grass. The wind surrounded him and the soft bustle of life off in the distance immersing him. He took a few more steps. It felt freeing, to know that he could be in the real world again. He suddenly felt more alive than he had felt since his death on Gallifrey.

"I know it's not technically your reality- parallel worlds and all- but it's far better than the stuffy Tardis wheezing in your ears every minute of every day," the eccentrically dressed man commented.

"I don't often say this, but thank you," the android expressed a hint of a smile.

They shook hands.

"I know what it means to you," the elder said simply, the auburn sunlight sparkling in the edges of his deep brown eyes.

They stood there for a peaceful moment, prideful in the wonderful result of their combined work.

The moment came to a screeching halt as footsteps pounded from inside the Tardis and a sharp voice rang through the room.

"What did you do to my Tardis?!" the tall Doctor hurried through the room to assess the damage. His long limbs did what they could to avoid the mess across the console room floor.

"I told you not to touch anything! One thing!" the older Doctor announced herself with a huff before grumbling, "And you don't understand why the Tardis doesn't like you."

"Just enjoying the sunset, love," her counterpart called to her from outside, "Care to join us?"

"Us?!" the taller Doctor's pale face faded into an even lighter shade that reflected the green in his attire. He forgot about his Tardis in an instant and sprinted to the front doors.

"What are you doing?" he pleaded to his own counterpart. The tall man rushes out to reach for his version of the Master, but quickly losing the willpower to follow through. His hands hovered there, just an inch away, before falling to his sides.

"You shouldn't have been able to walk out here!" he continued with uncontained nervously energy, "You can't be out here, it'll suffocate your mind!"

The android stood perfectly still, hands peacefully clasped behind his back and an amused smile on his lips as he watched his respective Doctor's worry become confusion.

"You... You're... You're okay?" his Doctor finally reached the correct conclusion.

The android nodded with a lighthearted smirk.

"You always were a little slow on the uptake, my dear Doctor," he said fondly. He then extended out a hand to gesture to his alternate self and elaborated,

"My new friend here has helped me with the containment you've so desperately imposed upon me. Given me a little extra free reign, if you will. I know you thought it impossible, but you should have realized by now that you're not always right."

The alternate Doctor and Master looked over each other for a long moment. The alternate Doctor against the backdrop of one of the most gorgeous sunsets Earth had to offer- and all he could do was look at the Master. And of course the Master, a man well acquainted with death, was finally happy to have cheated it once more simply to see his Doctor look upon him with such amazement and fondness.

The Master in purple caught his own Doctor's eye from where he stood outside the doors and watched the golden light bathe her figure in the Tardis threshold. Just as quickly, he diverted his gaze before she could catch it. These alternate versions of them might get a happy ending, but he didn't see a way their cycle of torment spanning thousands of years could ever reach a peaceful ending.

Still, a small seed of hope found its way between his empty hearts as he watched his alternate self gently pull the black glove off his hand.

The android Master reached out and took the Doctor's hand in his, meeting no resistance against the gentle touch. His Doctor then began to chatter nervously- in that way most Doctors had a bad habit of doing.

"I've- I've been thinking. Talking to another version of yourself really gives you some perspective," he began.

"I know what you mean, my dearest," the Master said softly, gently running his thumb over the Doctor's knuckles.

"-and I've been so frustrated with the Time Lords for sending us into these situations when their battles are what led to your... injuries. And ever since, I've been so scared of losing you-"

"I'm well aware."

"And... well... there are no timelords in this world anymore,"

"Indeed,"

"So if- Perhaps- Might we stay?" the tall Doctor asked his partner clunkily.

His words lingered as the wind swept through the pair's dramatically cut clothes and brushed the edges of their perfectly pulled-back hair.

The Master in all black hummed a smile, appreciating the very alive sensation of his Doctor's hand in his own. If there was an afterlife, he liked to think every moment felt just like this.

"That sounds like a wonderful solution," his respective Master agreed.

The taller Doctor sharply turned his head to the proper Doctor of this universe. His ancient eyes glistened with a feeling too overwhelming to put a name on.

"May we? Would that be alright with you both?" the alternate Doctor asked, and then promised, "We'd be sure not to interfere in the events of your own lives."

The older pair looked to either other in mild surprise. The Master in purple simply shrugged while the blond Doctor returned the gesture from the doorway of the alternate Tardis.

"I don't see why not," she replied after a moment of consideration, "We've been all over throughout our lives for thousands of years. I don't think two more would make much of a difference."

"Of all the ways to run away from your problems, this one might take the cake," the mechanical Master chided his old friend.

"Not to mention, you probably couldn't get home if you wanted to. The walls between parallel worlds are closed," the older Master gestured to nothing in particular, "Which I'd _hate_ to think means those time _bastards_ can't follow you here. What do _you_ think, Doctor?"

The Doctor remaining in the doorway smiled knowingly in return, "If I couldn't get out of here, I highly doubt they could get in."

"And even if they did," her version of the Master continued, "I've settled the score once. I'll happily do it again."

For once, his respective Doctor didn't protest his murderous tendencies.

"Then it's settled," the tall Doctor smiled widely for the first time in quite a while. His green coat catching a refreshing breeze of air and his hand tightened against the Master's, fully accepting his invitation to entwine their fingers.

"Shall we all go out for tea to celebrate?" the Master in all black requested to his Doctor in that ridiculous green and black coat, "I need some time away from the Tardis after all these years."

"Are you sure you'll be okay? You remembered what happened last time you-"

"What's wrong, my dearest? Don't you trust me?" he teased with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I don't," the Doctor hissed, same as always, despite their faces so close they might as well be touching.

The older Master rolled his gorgeous dark eyes and tossed a remark over to his own partner,

"It's a good thing we aren't so _painfully obvious_ ," he joked.

"Oh please," the android Master's voice hummed warmly, "you two were so distracted by each other earlier you didn't even realize you had the wrong _Tardis_. If I hadn't interrupted your little lover's quarrel, I fear you two may have never noticed."

The blond Doctor replied flatly, "Stay in your lane or I _will_ find a way to get you back to your universe," she retorted without any force behind it.

Both Masters smirked.

The Doctor in blue put her hands in her coat pockets and happily began to meander down the hillside. Her own Tardis had moved itself to sit just next to the one she had been standing in the doorway of, but she didn't feel a rush to get back to it just yet.

The remaining three followed. The alternate pair of the Doctor and the Master, happily hand in hand, and the older Master chasing down his own partner. He quickly fell in step aside her.

The sound of the Tardis doors closing could be heard somewhere behind them.

"So, where are we going, love?" the Master asked, his electrified features ever stretched into a teasing grin.

"For tea and a bite to eat, of course," the Doctor beamed happily, leading the way.

"With those lovesick fools?" the Master's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hm, I don't see why not," she said cheerfully. She paused a moment to check which direction to go and then headed for it. They walked in silence for a minute or so.

"Good job," she eventually said, unprompted and feigning apathy.

"What?" her Master asked, nearly missing her words all together.

"I said good job, for what you did for those two."

"Oh it was _purely_ selfish, I assure you. One more free-reign Master means more trouble for his version of you, and that's a promise," he beamed darkly.

The Doctor wasn't buying it.

"Either way, you helped them," she noted fondly. "That was quite nice of you."

He only huffed, "Great! Now I'll have to do something terrible to balance it out! Villainy takes time you know, it's not all puppy murdering and genocide!"

"You murder puppies?" the Doctor asked sadly.

The Master's face curled up in disgust, "No, of course not! What would that accomplish?"

The Doctor only laughed at his response.

"It's alright. I won't tell anyone," she promised.

It was strange. So strange, in fact, that for a few hours they forgot to argue and instead considered the reality of a world where their actions were just a little different and they were both a little happier.

The older pair watched their alternate selves as they happily chatted about all the places they were now free to visit together. They got along so well, still bickering of course, but more like an old married couple than an altercation. The Master scared one of the waitresses by rolling his robotic eyes a full 360 within his skull and his Doctor was in such a joyously relieved mood he did nothing but laugh for a full minute. The Doctor then eventually lied to the waitress by saying his friend was blind and his eyes were prosthetic and gave her a hefty tip to make up for the unnerving scare.

All the while, the older pair sat at a table of their own, quietly observing their alternate selves.

"Is it my fault?" the blond Doctor finally asked.

Her respective Master was suddenly pulled out of his own train of thought.

"What?"

"If things had turned out differently... We could have won the war but I would have lost you, right? That's what all this means?"

She found tears in her eyes but refused to shed them.

The Master in purple sitting across from her rolled his eyes.

"Of course not. There's a million things that could have happened. What happened to them is just one of... _infinite_ possibilities! There's probably another universe where we both die, several in fact, and probably several more where the war didn't even happen. Don't let this mess with your head."

He was surprised to find her eyes catch his, something gentle and genuine to her soft features.

"Right, of course..."

She paused, "Still. I wish.... Nevermind."

The Master didn't press the issue because he already understood what she was going to say.

He wished they could have run away together too.

"Doctor..." the Master began. But looking up at the Doctor's ever hopeful green eyes, he didn't find it in him to be kind. He had done inexcusable things after all. They both had. The time for apologies was long over.

They were headed in a far different direction than their younger counterparts. One- he was quite confident- could only end in mutually assured destruction.

He pulled several bills from a coat pocket, set them down on the table, and then got up without another thought.

"Excuse me," he said simply.

"It was nice to meet you both," he nodded to their counterparts as he passed their table and left the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> s o f t


	4. I Guess I'll See You Around

The Master was surprised to hear the bell above the shop door ring once more as his own Doctor followed him out of the shop. If not for recent events, he doubted she would have bothered.

He forced his hands into his pockets and grumbled in the direction of the Doctor's Tardis.

"Where are you going?" the Doctor asked.

"To your bloody Tardis. I still need a ride home after all," he huffed.

Somehow, having that little spark of hope hurt so much more than the hopelessness that had been situated in his hearts. So he had helped them. So what?

That Master hadn't yet done half the terrible things he had done since the Time War. All the human lives he hadn't taken, all the unforgivable atrocities, all the heavy truths he was burdened with. Their lives were completely different, a deathless Heaven versus his living Hell.

"I left them the Tardis number in case they have any trouble-"

"Why should I care?!" the Master snapped. He grimaced as he realized his error. He covered his face with a hand so the Doctor couldn't see the way he flinched.

He was surprised as the Doctor only pried his hand away from his face. He stopped to watch her, baffled, as she carefully examined his injury, his hand loosely held in her own.

"You didn't have that before," she observed, her brows pressing together in worry, "What happened?"

The Master closed his hand with a sharp breath of annoyance so she couldn't unwrap the bandage.

"I got angry, accidentally hurt myself. It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters," she replied.

"No, it really doesn't," he snapped angrily, "Because we're never going to be like _them!_ We're too far gone for that. There are things I'll never forgive you for, things you'll probably never forgive _yourself for either_. And we're never going to take care of each other, nor are we going to kill each other. We're not going to change- so worry about yourself."

They made their way back to the Doctor's own Tardis with only the heavy silence and cool evening air to accompany them. As they stepped up the hill, the Doctor finally spoke again.

"We'll see each other again, won't we?" the Doctor asked.

The Master sighed, unable to maintain his anger through all the conflict he felt.

"Of course we will. This world would be so _awfully_ dull without you, my dear."

The Doctor smiled and pushed open the Tardis doors.

The Tardis grumbled a series of whirling noises and beeps as they entered into it's warm orange and blue illuminated interior.

"I just had a few things to sort out! Now behave yourself!" the Doctor told her Tardis upon entering.

The Master took his usual spot by one of the pillars, ready for the Doctor to pilot the ship and stand well out of the Tardis's shock radius.

He stood there for a while, tangled in thought. He was surprised when the Doctor took a sharp turn down one of the halls and returned with a large first aid kit.

"Let me see," she demanded.

The Master childishly glared off to the side for a moment, his back to the pillar, but the Doctor didn't look like she was about to give up so he caved.

He sat down and she took a seat across from him. The Doctor opened the medical kit and layed it out next to her.

She carefully undressed the Master's wound, her hands treating the Master's as if they were incredibly delicate.

"Why are you doing this?" the Master asked, his mouth suddenly a bit dry.

"You said things weren't going to change, so this is me, not changing," she said firmly with her eyes focused on the Master's hand, "When there's a problem, I try to help- and you, sir, have cut your knuckles open pretty good. Plus, I've been meaning to check that you really are overreacting about the Tardis shocking you a while back. She shouldn't have been able to do any permanent damage, but she's certainly not a fan of yours."

For once, the Master didn't bother to think up any kind of clever reply. He simply sat there and let the Doctor tend to his wound, only making noise to hiss slightly as she checked that the wound was clean and put a medicine over it.

"You don't need stitches, lucky you," the Doctor commented.

She cut a new piece of gauze to put over it and then wrapped it in place with a new bandage. When she was done, she shifted her attention to the hand that he had been complaining about before.

The Master couldn't help but feel his hearts race at every gentle touch. He felt acutely aware of every brush of her fingers, yet felt distant from the sensation. He couldn't quite put it into words. He simply had no choice- not that he would have chosen to do anything else- as her hands worked over muscles he hadn't even known were aching until she touched them.

"It seems alright," she said after another minute or so.

Still, she continued until she had checked and massaged and checked again, every inch of his left hand.

"It should clear up soon," she confirmed once she had lost any possible reason to continue.

The Master had lost all ability to form cohesive sentences the moment her touch had begun to mesmerize him. He cleared his throat and did his best to mentally brush it off.

"Right. Yes," he nodded simply.

She then packed up the kit and put it away, acting as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Is Sheffield close enough to your Tardis for you?" she asked.

"It's fine enough," he agreed.

She set the coordinates and the ship made it's ever-familiar noises. It wasn't too bumpy of a flight, they weren't going very far really.

Once they landed, the Master made his way to the doors. There was a peaceful stillness between them.

He paused for a moment at the threshold.

"You know," he began half in thought. After a moment, he glanced up at the Doctor, a smile spread across his face, "the 23rd century's new magnetic train is looking pretty good for its first public round trip through Europe. It would be a shame if someone were to _derail_ such a crucial reconstruction project."

He put a finger to his lips, pretending to be thinking deeply about the prospect, "I hear it has quite the dining car."

The Doctor pretended to look disappointed in him, but the Master knew her better than that.

"Perhaps if a certain person stopped by and could _negotiate_ otherwise..."

He ended the thought by tossing his hands before him.

"Nah. Don't mind me. I'll be seeing you, Doctor," he noted. And then showed himself out.

Once the Doctor was alone again, she smiled softly to herself.

Even when things seemed beyond repair, there was always hope. The Master never changed for her, not really. When her past became too heavy of a burden, she always had seeing him again to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing the Master like this gahh
> 
> This is random but I totally forgot that the whole concept of the Master and the Doctor's Tardis having a grudgematch came from here.  
> In my other fic 'Quarentinemates' there's a bit called "Don't Piss Off The Designated Driver" where Master says that the Tardis got angry at him and zapped him.  
> And then I think there's a bit in the nail polish one "Yellow, Purple, and the Space inbetween" I think it's called, where the Doctor says there was a problem with her left(?) hand that was bothering her. And I TOTALLY forgot it came from this fic.
> 
> Bc like I said, I wrote this fic really early on when I was still trying to figure out how I wanted to write the Doctor and the Master and I wasn't going to post this but it was just sitting around anyways so why not.
> 
> If you actually read this THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  
> I hope it wasn't too difficult to read without all the detailing my brain fills in for me.  
> But seriously, thank you and have a great week!!


End file.
